This chapter is from the book

Each new version of Windows make its designers assume more about the preferences and abilities of the "average" user. Because this user doesn't exist, Microsoft lets you change Windows Vista's factory settings.

You can configure Windows in hundreds of ways ranging from superficial to meaningful. Changes to graphics, colors, and animation usually are cosmetic, whereas some other settings—the language used or adaptations for disabled users—change the way you work with Windows.

Using Control Panel

Control Panel is the central container of tools for changing preferences, configurations, and settings. These miniature programs commonly are called applets or extensions (or simply icons). Experienced Windows users are familiar with the interface in Figure 4.1, now called classic view. Windows Vista's Control Panel defaults to category view, much improved since Windows XP (Figure 4.2). In either view, you can hover your mouse pointer over a category heading or icon to see a pop-up description of it.

Figure 4.1 Classic view consolidates all Control Panel tools in one window. You can right-click an empty area to sort, group, or stack these icons, just like you can in any folder window.

Click a task link under a category heading to go right to that task (Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4 Clicking Customize Colors (under the Appearance and Personalization category heading) brings you right to this page.

To open an item in classic view:

Double-click the item.

or

Use the arrow keys to navigate to the desired item; then press Enter.

or

Press the key of the item's first letter; then press Enter.

If multiple items have the same first letter, press that letter repeatedly until the desired item is highlighted; then press Enter.

To search for a Control Panel item:

In the top-right corner of Control Panel, type search text (one or more keywords) in the Search box.

Control Panel shows the matching tasks as you type. Click any link in the results list (Figure 4.5).

Figure 4.5 This search lists mouse-related tasks. The Search box, new in Vista, works best in category view.

See also "Searching for Files and Folders" in Chapter 5.

TIP

Control Panel understands synonyms. If you search for wallpaper, for example, you'll see Change Desktop Background (the precise term) in the results—in category view, that is. In classic view, you can search only by icon name.

To switch Control Panel views:

Open Control Panel.

In the left pane, click Classic View (for classic view) or Control Panel Home (for category view) (Figure 4.6).

Figure 4.6 It's easy to switch the current view. Windows veterans may no longer prefer classic view now that Control Panel has a Search box.

TIPs

When you're browsing a category, the left pane includes a link to take you to the Control Panel Home page, links for each category, and links for recently performed tasks (refer to Figure 4.3).

Unlike the Search box in the Start menu (which searches your whole computer), the Control Panel Search box finds only tasks related to Control Panel. Some example searches to try: screen resolution, add a printer, and connect internet.

If you're using a laptop computer, you have an additional Control Panel category—Mobile PC—that desktop users don't.

Some icons appear in more than one category. You can find Power Options, for example, in both the Hardware and Sound category and the Mobile PC category, and Windows Firewall appears in both Security and in Network and Internet.

If you can't find the item you want in category view, click the Additional Options category (or switch to classic view).

In either view, you can drag an item to the desktop or Start menu to create a shortcut.

A guided-help animation is available for Control Panel: Choose Start > Help and Support, type tour the control panel in the Search box, and then press Enter. In the results list, click Tour the Control Panel.

Applet Files

The files for Control Panel applets are stored in the folder \Windows\System32, and they have the extension .cpl. To see them, navigate to that folder in Windows Explorer and sort the files by Type (or search for cpl). The Time and Date applet, for example, is timedate.cpl, and Programs and Features is appwiz.cpl. For details, see "List of Control Panel applets (Windows)" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Control_Panel_applets_%28Windows%29.

You can bypass Control Panel by creating direct shortcuts to .cpl files or by typing controlapplet_name in the Start menu's Search box. To open Security Center, for example, type control wscui.cpl in the Search box and press Enter.